[Chronic Pancreatitis - An Updated Surgical Perspective]

Continuously rising incidence and prevalence, frequent hospitalisation, development of opioid dependence, and early retirement of young people demonstrate the enormous socioeconomic impact of chronic pancreatitis. The aims of therapy include pain relief, improved quality of life, management of complications, cancer prevention and preservation of function. Since medical and endoscopic approaches of conservative therapy have proved to be ineffective in the long term, surgery remains the mainstay of treatment and should be considered as early as possible. Surgery encompasses a wide spectrum of methods, ranging from simple drainage procedures and conventional resections to various hybrid techniques. The choice of optimal surgical management should consider the unique pathomorphologic changes of each patient and be performed at a high-volume pancreas centre. This review presents the current evidence-based state of knowledge about chronic pancreatitis from a surgical point of view with a practical summary of therapeutic strategies according to the available guidelines and considering the most recent literature.